


ceremonies and celebrations

by imissmaeberry



Series: Love and Lifetimes [2]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Love, Romance, Some Humor, Wedding Fluff, Wedding Planning, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-17
Updated: 2019-09-17
Packaged: 2020-11-03 21:14:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20679821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imissmaeberry/pseuds/imissmaeberry
Summary: soonyoung asked you to marry him, and you say yes. this is everything that comes after.





	ceremonies and celebrations

**Author's Note:**

> hi, this is the non-requested sequel to pacts and promises!!!! please read that first if you haven't already :)) i hope you enjoy!

You say yes. Over and over, with tears in your eyes, you tell Soonyoung that yes, you’ll marry him. You’ve never wanted anything more. He slips the ring onto your finger and it’s perfect, he’s perfect, you’ve never been so happy, you can’t stop the tears.

To think that only a year ago, you’d never known if you’d be allowed to love him like this. You’re so grateful he insisted on carrying out that ridiculous pact, and he laughs when you tell him so. He’s standing now, holding your face in his hands and kissing you all over, wiping away your tears. 

“I’ve loved you since before I knew what that meant.” he tells you, wrapping one arm around your waist and swaying with you slowly to the music still playing on his phone. His voice is soft, a little broken from his own tears that have been shed. “I’ve always known that you were what I wanted. You - you told me the reason you hated the pact was because you were worried I wouldn’t love you back and - and that was why I was pushing it so hard. I wanted to tell you so badly.” 

You laugh, a little watery, and press a kiss into his neck. “I’m glad we made it here. I love you.”

He returns the sentiment and you continue swaying together there in the lantern light of the gazebo. 

**The Announcement**

The first call you make is to your parents, sort of - you don’t tell them that the two of you are engaged, because you want to see their faces. Soonyoung suggests just telling them it’s been a while since all of you have gotten together, and that you want to see them as soon as you can. Plans are made for the following weekend, and Soonyoung’s parents agree as well, and you’re so excited. 

This does, of course, require some elusive tactics on your part - you don’t want to not wear the ring, but you fear that if someone sees it the news will get out before you can go out to see your parents. You want nothing more than to take pictures of it and tell the whole world how much you love your fiance, how excited you are to be with him for the rest of your life. Soonyoung understands of course, and reminds you with a kiss that it’s only a few days. You’ll be able to shout it from the rooftops soon enough. It takes everything in you to not refer to him as your fiance in every breath, but you manage, and soon enough you and Soonyoung are pulling into the driveway of your parents’ home. His parents’ car is already there, and you know now that this is it. 

Your mother greets you at the door, and you think of the ring nestled in your pocket. Everyone is seated in the living room, and you all hug and greet each other, and once things are caught up, Soonyoung’s mother expresses her suspicions that there’s an ulterior motive to this meeting. 

You and Soonyoung both blush, and both laugh. “Actually,” you start, reaching into your pocket and slipping the ring onto your finger, “there is something we wanted to tell all of you.”

“Oh my god, you’re pregnant.” your mother gasps, which makes his mother gasp, both of them covering their mouths with their hands. 

“What? Mom, no.” You laugh. You pull your hand from your pocket, angled down to show off the ring. “We - we’re getting married.” 

Your mothers gasp collectively this time, reaching out to their respective husbands who seem unsurprised. Happy, but by no means shocked. 

“Was it the ring you showed me?” Soonyoung’s father asks, smile small and knowing. Soonyoung nods, his own smile a mirror. 

You stand and walk over to show the ring to them up close, but instead you’re pulled into a tight hug as your mother and his stand as well, wrapping you in their arms, both of them crying. You’re overcome with the need to cry as well. You’re so lucky to have this much love in your life. 

“Tell us everything.” Soonyoung’s mother begs when they release you, holding your hand up to her eyes.

You and Soonyoung meet eyes, and share a tender smile. “You tell them. You planned it all.” you say. He presses a kiss to the top of your head and begins the story.

* * *

* * *

Later that night, you’re alone with your father in the kitchen - making snacks to bring back out to everyone else. 

“You didn’t seem that surprised.” You say, pouring popcorn into a bowl. “Neither you or Mr. Kwon did.” 

He chuckles. “Well, Soonyoung did ask my permission about a month ago.” 

“You gave it, I’m assuming.”

He shakes his head. “I told him he didn’t need it. Our families have always been close, and I love him like my son already, and the permission that mattered most was yours.” 

“Oh.” you smile softly and reach out to hug him. “Thank you, dad.” You step back, but something sticks out. “But why was mom so surprised then?” 

“Oh, that.” He smirks. “Soonyoung came out to visit last month, and we - him, his father and I - went to dinner so he could discuss his plan to ask you. He had a ring picked out, and when we both expressed support, we all agreed to keep mum about it. Your mothers are both…excitable. We worried they might spill the surprise.” 

You laugh. That does sound like them. “Well, it all worked out in the end, huh?” 

Your father nods and takes the bowl of popcorn from you, leading you back into the festivities. The moment you’re back your mother smiles, broad and full of joy, pulling you down to sit beside her and patting your leg. “I can’t wait to go dress shopping with you.” 

You smile, even though you’re sure the experience will be equal parts stress and magic, and Soonyoung’s mother makes sure to say she’ll be there too.

“Of course.” You lean your head onto your mother’s shoulder. “I need both of you to be there.”

Soonyoung smiles at you from across the room where he’s sitting on the couch, and mouths the words “I love you.” 

**the party, first of many**

Your parents insist on it. You and Soonyoung both try to insist otherwise - engagement parties aren’t a must, and neither is a full on photoshoot. The important people in your lives know you’re engaged, and that’s what matters to you. The party really isn’t necessary. 

“Then think of it more like a family reunion.” Soonyoung’s mother tells you. “But with twice the family and all your important friends. We can do a pot luck if it will make you more comfortable.”

“Plus,” your mother adds, “think of the guest list as a trial run for the one for the wedding. We won’t tell anyone it’s an ‘engagement celebration’ so anyone who doesn’t make the cut won’t feel slighted.” She turns to your father and smiles. “That’s what we did.” 

Your eyes widen and your parents laugh. “That’s a really good idea, actually.” 

You and Soonyoung head home the next day, heads reeling a little, tasked only with creating a guest list and showing up on the day of. 

The two of you spend every night for a week or so - or more - poring over your contact lists, on the phone with your parents with questions about which relatives the family was still cool with and who was absolutely not going to be invited. 

It’s exhausting, but once it was over you felt a distinct sense of relief. Your parents sent out invitations, carefully inviting everyone to “an evening of family and friends, please bring a covered dish” instead of mentioning your relationship with Soonyoung. The friends you’d alerted ahead of time had asked if it was an engagement party, but were easily appeased with the promise of good food and an open bar. 

The night comes three months into the engagement, and it’s easily the most stressed you’ve ever been. Even though the night isn’t dedicated to you and Soonyoung, it doesn’t stop all of your older relatives coming up to you and poking and prodding at the two of you to answer questions about the upcoming wedding - sometimes literally. Your parents, thankfully, seemed to always be able to tell when things were going too far; one of them would magically appear to sweep a relative or three away so you and Soonyoung could breathe. 

Looking back, it was a good night. A great night, overall - being surrounded by people who love you, eating good food and hearing people congratulate you and Soonyoung on your love. Things could certainly have been worse, but a lot of your family knew and liked each other already. 

Maybe planning the wedding wouldn’t be so hard.

* * *

**Planning**

**November - 18 months to go**

With the not-an-engagement-party out of the way, the pressure is on to begin the real planning. Soonyoung agrees that a summer and a winter wedding are both off the table - weather too much of an extreme to be considered. That leaves spring and fall, both seasons beautiful in their own rights. Picking fall seems to be the better option, as it gives you a full year to really plan with it being mid-fall now, but you and Soonyoung are both enticed by the idea of getting married when the world is in full bloom. 

If anything, you rationalize, it gives you more time to plan and make sure everything will be perfect. You pick a Saturday in early May, and now comes the task of hiring a planner. You and Soonyoung are both too busy to try and plan anything yourselves, and you know that Seungcheol and his husband had done nothing but sing the praises of the one they’d hired. You make a note to get her name from them when they come over for dinner the following week and shoot a text to your mom as Soonyoung does the same. It’ll be a long engagement - nearly two years - but it’ll be worth it. 

“I’m excited.” you tell him, smiling as you lean into him on your couch. “We have a date. This is real.”

“Hey now.” he chides playfully, “It’s been real the whole time. Even if we didn’t get married for three years, it’d be real.” 

“I know,” you laugh. “It just - setting a date makes everything feel so…solid.”

Soonyoung rubs your arm and nods. “Yeah, I know what you mean.” 

x

The first meeting with the planner goes spectacularly. She really understands the vision you’ve crafted in your head - and in numerous pinterest boards - and already has suggestions for venues and catering and florists. 

Maybe planning the wedding wouldn’t be so hard with her on your side.

**January - 16 months to go**

You get a call from your planner early one Monday morning, telling you she wants to take you and your fiancé out on Saturday to look at some possible venues. She’s only selected ones available for your date, so there’s no issue of running into a scheduling conflict. All you and Soonyoung have to do is show up and say yes. 

You meet up with her early Saturday morning, everyone with coffee in hand, and pile into her company SUV before hitting the road. She has a good number of places she thinks are good options, and the first few are right here in the city. 

The first two are immediate “no”s. There’s just something about the spaces that even thinking about them dressed up just for you doesn’t feel right. You finish the tours and politely thank the managers before heading off to the third.

This is your first positive option - a botanical garden on the outskirts of the city that you and Soonyoung have been to before, and you’re surprised neither of you thought of it before. The idea of getting married here excites you both, especially when the event manager shows you pictures from previous weddings. It’s definitely a strong contender and when you leave you’re feeling much more hopeful than you were before. 

The last two options are out of the city - hotels tucked away in smaller towns with sprawling lawns and beautiful gardens during the warmer months. The first is charming but possibly a bit small, and would require having their own team cater the festivities. You’re not against the idea, but you don’t want to miss out on anything by locking yourself down. 

The second, however, is like something out of a dream. 

Pulling up to the hotel itself feels like you’ve wandered onto the set of a movie. You can’t explain it - everything is beautiful even covered in snow, and as you’re lead through the gardens along the path you get more and more excited, squeezing Soonyoung’s hand and smiling at him brightly. The manager leads you out to the place most commonly used for the ceremony, and you can see why - the gazebo looks out onto a beautiful lake that must be even more beautiful in springtime. When you head back inside for coffee and a more detailed explanation of the packages available, you know you’re already sold. The pictures they show you both of previous events only proves to cement the choice in your mind.

You turn to Soonyoung and by the look on his face, you know you’re in agreement. He turns to the event manager and says, “We’ll take it. We’d love nothing more than to get married here.”

**April - 13 months to go**

“Why are there so many fucking types of font and paper for invitations? And for save the dates? Are save the dates really necessary?”

You and Soonyoung are seated in the bakery near your apartment, looking through stationary samples your planner had given you from her stationer of choice. There were so many, and the choice wasn’t made any easier when she reminded you that any sample could be changed to suit your color scheme and personal style. This seemed like it would be an easy choice right up until you’d been handed the binder. 

You sigh as you flip slowly through the samples, Soonyoung’s head resting on your shoulder. “This is a big decision though, Soonie. Once we pick these, all the stationary will be taken care of - save the dates, invites, seating cards, menus, thank yous, everything. So much will be done just by picking…something.” 

He huffs and takes a bite of the cookie he’s been picking at throughout this whole process, holding it up for you to bite at as well. You chew and flip to the next page and your whole face lights up. 

“Soonie,” you say, voice full of excitement that causes him to lift his head from your shoulder to look at you directly. You tap the page, smiling at him wildly, “This one, Soonie, but in our colors. Wouldn’t it be perfect?”

Soonyoung squints down at the binder, reaching out to touch the cardstock as he surveys the design of it all, and nods. “The font, though - remember that font from the beginning we really liked? This style but that font, and our colors?” He slides the binder to his side of the table to flip back - making sure to use a thumb to mark the place that had excited you so much - until he found the set he’d been talking about. He’s right, when you look at it - it all seems perfect in your mind’s eye. 

You take two sticky notes off the pad you’d brought along, writing ‘font’ on one and ‘style’ on another, sticking them on the pages you’d selected and closing the binder. You both sigh with relief, sagging back in your seats. 

Setting your date so far out had seemed like a fine idea at first, until you realized it meant prolonging when you could actually sit down to plan and arrange certain things. 

One step down - hundreds more to go. 

**June - 11 months to go**

Dress shopping is much less magical than you ever hoped it would be.

You’re up early on a Saturday after a rough week at work and you’d much rather be back at home, snuggled and sleeping in Soonyoung’s arms. But you have numerous people coming into the city today just to come along on this experience with you, and you have appointments at bridal salons, so you can’t just cancel.

You have everyone meet you at the first store and they all look significantly more excited than you feel - but you’re hopeful that as the day goes on and you try on dresses, that will change. You’re not expecting to cry today, but who knows. 

You spend the day in a flurry of white and cream and eggshell, even a few pinks on the palest end of the spectrum, but nothing is right. Every dress is beautiful - even the ones that end up not being beautiful on you - but none of them are giving you that feeling. Not a single dress has given you the sensation that you absolutely had to have it, none of them had made you sad to take it off. 

Everyone had assured you it was more than normal to not fine The Dress in your first day. It was an important decision after all, one that much like your decision to marry Soonyoung would follow you for the rest of your life. You knew this might happen, but you can’t help but lose hope. 

You’re at the last shop of the day when the salesperson helping you comes into the dressing room, a few new dresses folded over their arms. They smile at you soothingly, knowing already how frustrated the day has made you. 

“I’ve brought you a few wild cards.” They say, helping you out of what you thought would be your last dress today. “If you’re too tired to try them on, I understand, of course. But I think you’ll like them.” 

You take a deep breath and rub your temples. What’s a few more dresses. You nod and roll your shoulders, giving the go-ahead for for them to suit you up, so to speak. 

Immediately the vibe changes. The material isn’t really any different from any of the dresses you’d put on earlier, but the moment it’s settled onto your body you know. There’s a very high chance you will leave this store having put a payment down on this dress. 

The salesperson walks back out with you, taking care to make sure you didn’t trip over the hem. The moment your party sees you there are gasps, and screams, an “oh my god” or two and when you see yourself in the full length mirror, there are tears in your eyes. Turning carefully to face everyone, you can see that you’re not the only one. 

“This is it.” you say, unable to keep yourself from laughing even through the tears. “This is the one, right? I’m not crazy, am I?”

“No!” comes the immediate response. Your mother and Soonyoung’s are both crying rather loudly, holding each other on the couch. You open your arms and they come toward you, careful to keep from crying onto the dress as they hug you. It’s only a matter of moments before your friends join, and you’re all standing there laughing and crying. They pull away from you and the salesperson holds a box of tissues out to you, smiling brightly. 

“I take it this is the one, then?” they say, even though they seem to already know the answer. 

“Yes.” you say, wiping tears from your face. “This is my dress. Absolutely.” 

They nod and help you down off the pedestal and back towards the dressing room. You confide that you don’t want to take it off and they laugh. “That’s usually a good sign.” They help you out of it and put it back on the hanger, taking note of the serial number. “But one day you’ll be able to wear it whenever you want, and more importantly you’ll wear it to marry the love of your life. Isn’t that such a wonderful thing to look forward to?”

You start crying all over again. They’re unphased, handing you the tissues once more and saying that they’ll give you a minute to get dressed before finishing the appointment. You stand there, alone, surrounded by tulle and organza, tears flowing freely for a minute before you take a few deep breaths to steady yourself. You wipe your eyes and put your regular clothes back on, heading out to meet with everyone else. 

You give your size and your phone number and whatever information they’ll need to contact you, and when you take out your checkbook out, you’re assured the dress has already been paid for. You turn incredulously to your mother, who instantly points to Soonyoung’s, who points back to yours. They look at each other and laugh, only telling you not to worry about it. You frown, telling them that you’d budgeted for this, you could pay for it. Both your parents and Soonyoung were already helping with wedding expenses, so you hadn’t anticipated this as well. 

You’re overwhelmingly grateful for them. You wish you could do more than thank them.

When you express as much, they smile and tell you that you just have to make sure you and Soonyoung stay as happy together as you always have. That’s all they can ask for. 

You don’t cry again, no matter what anyone says. You absolutely do not cry - your eyes are naturally very wet. 

Later, when you’re home and tucked into Soonyoung’s arms, you tell him how lucky the two of you are - not only to have each other, but to have families who love you and have the means to help you. 

“I take it dress shopping went well, then?” he asks, tucking a loose piece of hair behind your ear. You nod and lay your head against his chest. 

“I can’t wait for you to see it.” You say thoughtfully. “I think you’ll cry.” 

He hums, and then laughs. You look up at him, eyebrows quirked in a question mark, and he explains. “I was gonna say something cheesy like ‘you could come down the aisle in a potato sack and I’d probably cry’ but then I actually like, imagined it, and I couldn’t help but laugh. So I think as long as your dress isn’t a potato sack, I’ll probably cry.”

You laugh with him when you imagine it as well, hitting him playfully. 

“I love you.”

“I love you too.” 

**October - 7 Months To Go**

With the dress secured, things seem to move along much easier. The guest list is finalized, save the dates are sent, a photographer, a caterer and a florist are all hired, bridesmaid dresses are ordered with as little fuss as can be managed. Hotel rooms are reserved, the bridal suite in particular, more and more appointments are made for things that can only be done in the few months before the wedding. 

There had been a little snag with the photographer - Soonyoung’s friend Minghao, upon hearing you were looking for photographers, had been politely miffed that you hadn’t called him. It was his profession, after all, and you were his friends. You promised that he was of course your first choice, but you wanted him to be there as a guest, not to work. 

“Also, you’re in the wedding party.” Soonyoung had reminded him. “So it would be a little difficult for you to shoot it.” Minghao’s ears had gone only slightly red at this, but he did offer up some names that hadn’t been in your planner’s list. 

“They’re really good but need exposure, so you’ll get a better deal. Plus I’ll be able to check in with them if need be.”

You and Soonyoung ponder over whether it’s a good idea to hire someone who hasn’t done a wedding before, even with Minghao’s promise of checking in, but after meeting with one of them and doing some test shots, you agree that she’s who you want to hire and give her name to your planner. 

**January - Four Months to go**

Soonyoung’s not really used to being the center of attention, but this is of course the case when the time comes for tux fittings. He’s having his made just for the wedding, and it’s nothing like the experience he’s had renting in the past. 

He stands in a small dressing room while older men take his measurements and adjust his body this way and that to account for the way his body needs to move on the day of. They get him into a model in one of the colors that he’s chosen - something to align with the color scheme of the wedding. It’s a spring wedding and while Soonyoung looks fantastic in black, you and he had agreed something lighter would be nice. 

He goes out to show the people he’s brought along - Seungcheol and Minghao are here, as well as Junhui, Seungkwan and of course the best men, Seokmin and Jihoon. Only missing are Chan and Wonwoo. 

The response is, as expected, lots of annoyingly loud wolf whistles and hollers as he steps out. They’re not wrong, of course - he looks good and it’ll only look better when the suit is fitted just for him. Minghao stands to get a closer inspection and takes a few photos with his phone, showing the others before showing Soonyoung as well. The suit photographs well, apparently, something Soonyoung hadn’t particularly been worried about but is definitely a plus.

His jacket gets passed around to see if the color suits more than just Soonyoung - even though they’ll only be wearing the pants and not matching Soonyoung entirely. It’s quickly decided that this will be what he wears, followed by picking out ties and a shirt to match, and deciding after some discussion for the groomsmen to wear something different from Soonyoung. Matching ties and shoes with Soonyoung would suffice as long as all the party had the same look, with the addition of vests for the best men. Deciding those could be rented elsewhere, Soonyoung’s suit and the ties are all ordered and it’s off to lunch before they set out for the rentals. Normally Soonyoung would trust his friends to do this themselves, but you had requested he go along to be sure things were all the same and everyone was happy. 

Once they’re inside Soonyoung realizes you were right - the men quickly spread across the store, grabbing things and suggesting them to Soonyoung. He’s quickly overwhelmed and Seokmin notices immediately, quickly instructing everyone to put their things back so Soonyoung could browse the store himself. It was his wedding after all. Soonyoung sags with relief and walks through the racks slowly, grabbing things here and there he thought would look nice but not clash against his suit. Minghao walked with him, not suggesting anything but giving comments when Soonyoung asked his opinion, holding Soonyoung’s phone with the pictures of the suit pulled up. 

Eventually they get some of them into a dressing room to try things on and a decision is made, a text put into the groomsmen group chat for Chan and Wonwoo to let them know the details for them to drop by later the upcoming week to make their own arrangements. 

Everyone goes home for the night, and Soonyoung comes home to you at the stove, prepping dinner. He wraps his arms around you, resting his head on your shoulder and sighing deeply. 

“That bad?” you ask, smiling and pulling one of his hands up to kiss it before setting it back at your waist. 

“Not until we got to the rental place.” he squeezes you before letting go so he could press a kiss to your cheek and hop onto the counter. “Suddenly everyone was everywhere and shoving pants in my face until Seokmin was like ‘hey, why don’t we let him pick stuff out since it’s his wedding’. Went much smoother after that. Everyone but Chan and Wonwoo are taken care of. Did you like the pictures I sent?”

“Yeah, babe.” You smile up at him. “Can you grab the milk for me?”

He hops off the counter to do as you ask, pouting. “You’re not gonna tell me I looked good?” 

You laugh and take the milk, pouring it into the pan before handing it back to him. “You looked so good, Soonie. You’re gonna look great when it’s all fitted just for you.” You kiss his pout when he leans in, pointedly, before turning back to dinner. 

x

Eating so much cake at 9:30 in the morning was never a good idea, particularly with Soonyoung. Neither of you had eaten anything before the cake, something you regretted almost immediately when the sugar rushing through your systems ended in a crash on your way to a second bakery. 

“We have to get lunch, Soonyoung.” you beg, “I can’t stomach ten more bites of cake without actual food in my stomach.”

He agrees and since it’s on the way, you stop at the bakery near your apartment. You’re waiting for your food when you realize something - a bakery. You turn to Soonyoung, whispering excitedly under your breath, “Do you think they do wedding cakes, Soonie?” 

His eyes go wide and his mouth drops open. You’d been coming here for years and yet neither of you had ever considered coming here - you knew they made simple cakes, but the focus was on breads and pastries, things made in batches. You go back up to the register, greeted once more by a cashier who knew both you and Soonyoung by name, had worked here almost as long as you had been coming here. 

“I have a question.” 

“Of course, what’s up?”

“Do you guys do wedding cakes?”

Her eyes go wide, and she thinks for a moment. “Not often, but I’m sure if I tell the owners it’s yours, they’ll be more than happy to.”

You smile brightly - you’d met the owners a few times and they were lovely people who lived in an apartment above the bakery. She steps away to call them and tells you they’ll be down in just a few minutes to talk to you and Soonyoung. She’s smiling, so you’re sure this is going to work out. You and Soonyoung take your food and sit, and he calls the other bakery to say you’d come down with a stomach bug and would call to reschedule. 

The owners meet with you a few minutes later, joining you and Soonyoung at your table. They tell you that they can make wedding cakes, and would be more than happy to make yours, but they can only do things that are stylistically on the simple side. You assure them that you don’t want anything spectacular anyway, maybe the icing of each layer a different color, some simple piping. It’s more about the way the cake tastes. You and Soonyoung agree to come in later that week, after work, to have a tasting and talk more about design.

You finish your lunch and head home, and neither you nor Soonyoung can stop smiling. Things are coming together quite nicely - the dinner, the cake, the flowers? All taken care of, now. Your rings have been picked out and ordered, the setlist for the DJ has been started, you’ve both begun writing your vows. Every day more and more pieces come together, every day this vision you and Soonyoung have created becomes more and more real. 

**March - Two Months to Go**

Invitations are sent out, and with only two-ish months to go, things are getting somehow less real. It seems insane that the day you’ve spent so long planning is a little less than eight weeks away - even though the planning has gone surprisingly smooth, and everything is in order, as the date looms closer you feel like you should be getting more and more excited.

You bring it up to Soonyoung one night as you sit together - but separately - writing your vows. 

“Soonie, do you feel like…it’s like, as we get closer to getting married, things seem less real. Does that make sense?”

Soonyoung looks up from his notebook and taps his lip with his pen. “No, I get that. I’ve been kind of feeling the same way. I bet it’ll go up til like, right before the wedding, and then everything will feel too real. And then day of it’ll go right back to feeling like a dream.”

You groan, about to say something when your phone chimes - Soonyoung’s does too, from the kitchen. You swipe across the screen, getting up to grab your laptop.

“Three more RSVPs from mom.” you say when Soonyoung moves to check his own phone. “She sent the names to the group chat.”

“Ah, okay.”

More and more RSVPs pour in during the following days and weeks, and it leads to numerous night huddled over a seating chart with both your mothers on the phone to ensure family members would keep the peace. 

**April - Three Weeks To Go**

Your day to day has become little more than check ins and spreadsheets and phone calls with your planner as things get down to the wire. Everything is still going to just to plan, there’s just a lot of details for you and Soonyoung to finalize. It’s tiring and you feel a little bombarded at all ends, but you both know how worth it everything will be. You keep each other sane and at the end of the day, that’s what matters.

You have a bridal shower and after that comes the bachelor and bachelorette parties, which leave you and Soonyoung both monstrously hungover the following morning, asleep until nearly two and feeling like no amount of greasy food or coffee or advil can save you. 

**May - One Week to Go**

Every night before bed, you and Soonyoung practice your waltz. You weren’t graced with his natural abilities, and the last thing you want to do is trip all over your dress and also Soonyoung. It’s a good way to break in your new shoes, as well. He says you’re getting better, and while you’re not sure, you trust him to keep you from looking too foolish. 

**Three Days to Go**

You feel like one giant ball of trembling nerves. What if you mess up? What if you trip down the aisle? What if you forget something important, like the license, or the rings, or someone unexpected shows up?

Soonyoung, bless him, can always tell when you’re letting yourself get too worked up. Even apart, he seems to know just when to text you a picture of some ridiculous shirt his favorite student wore, or how the chocolate chips in his cookie look like a face, or any number of other silly things that remind you how much you love him and how excited you are for the wedding. So excited to marry him. 

And when you’re together, he’ll take whatever your holding from your hands and set it down so he can take you into his arms, squeezing you tight and running a hand up and down your back until you relax. “Everything is going to be fine.” He’ll whisper. “At the end of the day, we’re going to be married. That’s all we need to worry about.”

**The Day Before**

You and Soonyoung drive out to the hotel for the rehearsal dinner, both of you mentioning how strange it’s going to feel spending the night apart for the first time in so long. You’ve relied on each other heavily for the last few weeks, keeping each other comforted and sane. You remind yourself that at this point, everything is essentially out of your hands. Worrying will get you nothing but a bad night’s sleep.

The rehearsal goes smoothly, thankfully, and your planner lets you know that everything is all set for the following day. Her team will be out early the next morning to handle setup and deliveries and all you need to worry about is getting some sleep and saying “I do.” Everything else will be taken care of. 

Soonyoung walks you to your room - on the other side of the floor from his - and kisses you goodnight at the door. “We won’t be apart that long.” He tells you, rubbing his thumbs over your cheeks. “We’ll wake up and find our way back to each other right at the perfect moment. I promise I’ll cry when you come down the aisle, okay?”

You laugh and he kisses you again as you go through the door. 

“I love you.” you tell him softly as you close the door. 

“I love you.” he responds, his back turned to you as he makes his way to his room. 

If you make your way into his bed later that night, promises on both your lips to wake early enough that you can slip back to your own room, no one else has to know.

* * *

**The Wedding**

You make it back to your room, unnoticed, with just enough time before your bridal party arrives with breakfast and coffee and mimosas, looking tired from the early hour but so happy to be a part of this day with you. Once the hair and makeup team arrive, there are too many things happening for you to even notice them all so you stop trying. If someone needs your attention specifically, they can ask for it. 

You can only imagine that the prep Soonyoung is going through across the floor is much less extensive - he and his party most likely slept much longer and are only getting together now, whereas you’re sitting in a chair with your face half-done, eating one of the pastries left over from breakfast while your hair is brushed and styled to perfection.

In a flash, the time has come. All that’s left is your dress, which your party helps you into and makes sure everything is as it should be. Someone from your planner’s team comes to collect you and, hands shaking, you follow them out of the room and across the hotel to where numerous people are gathered overseeing this and that all for your wedding. 

Your party lines up with Soonyoung’s, headed off by the flower girl and the ring bearer, and you can feel yourself already starting to tear up. You’re at the back of the line with your father and he hears you sniffle, looking down at you with kind eyes. 

“Don’t cry now, sweetheart.” He whispers, squeezing your hand. “You’ve barely made it to the good part.”

You laugh. “Tell me something funny from you and mom’s wedding.”

He hums as the two of you slowly step forward as more people make their way up to the altar. “We were married by a friend of ours, but later we found out he wasn’t actually ordained. He felt so bad - there had been some steps in his renewal that he’d missed, so his license was expired.”

“That’s not funny at all?” you gasp, immediately thinking of your own officiant - your planner had handled that when you had expressed no interest in hiring anyone in particular, and he’d been a lovely man when you’d met him. You were sure everything was fine.

“That’s true.” your father considers. “But you stopped tearing up, and now look. It’s your turn.” 

You realize that he’s right. He’d distracted you just long enough that you’d reached the end of the aisle, and you could see Soonyoung standing at the other end waiting for you. People stand on either side of the runner, but Soonyoung is all you can see. He’s smiling that wide grin of his that you love so much, and your heart is so full you’re sure you’ll have to burst with it. The closer you get you can see that he’s already crying and off-handedly you think about the promise he made you the night before. 

Soonyoung thanks your father and takes your hand, leading you up into the gazebo where the two of you exchange vows and love and tears, holding each others’ hands so tightly as the officiant reads the poems and passages you selected before the pronouncement is made. 

“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.” 

Soonyoung lifts your veil with shaking hands and you take his face into your own, wiping at his wet cheeks with your thumbs. He leans in and you lean forward and the crowd erupts as your lips touch, but all you can focus on is the man in front of you and how much you love him, how this kiss is the first of many to come in your marriage, the way his hands feel as they wrap around your waist and pull you closer. 

You separate and Soonyoung bursts into fresh tears, blubbering as he tells you how beautiful you look. You laugh, wet with your own tears, wiping his cheeks. 

“Let’s go have a moment to ourselves, okay, Soonie?” 

He nods and you take each others’ hands, walking back down the aisle together. You retrieve a handful of tissues from the planner, who reminds you that the photographer will be around in about ten minutes for pictures on the property before you and your husband head inside for the reception. 

You lead Soonyoung down the path to the next gazebo in sight, swinging your hands between you. He takes a seat and you wipe his face, despite his attempts to take the tissues from you to do it himself. 

“You shouldn’t have to-” he tries to say, but you tut at him and he stops. 

“Let me take care of my husband, Soonyoung.” He beams at your use of the word, pulling you down to kiss you softly. 

“I love you.” he whispers. “My wife.”

“I love you too, Soonie.” you whisper back. “I think we should head back.”

He nods and stands, smacking his cheeks a few times - only lightly - as if willing any future swelling and puffiness not to come up. 

Photographs are taken and you all head inside where you’re welcomed as the “Brand New Mr. and Mrs. Kwon Soonyoung.” 

You have your first dance and then Soonyoung surprises you with a choreographed dance of his own to one of your favorite songs. The whole room laughs, and so do you, and Soonyoung pulls you up to dance with him as the music fades and the DJ calls for everyone to join you on the dance floor.

Everything is perfect. The flowers, the food, the cake, the way the ceremony space had been decorated. You couldn’t ask for anything more. Everything you’ve spent so long planning blooms in perfect fruition and it’s more than you could have ever hoped for. 

Everyone’s speeches are moving and perfect and Soonyoung and Seokmin both get through theirs with minimal tears, and even Jihoon recites a poem he’s written just for the two of you, sitting down promptly afterwards as you and Soonyoung cry. 

When everything ends, and Soonyoung stands by your side as you say goodbye and thank everyone for coming, it’s perfect. 

It’s perfect, he’s perfect, and you’ve never been so happy.


End file.
